Dark and Darker launches to payment issues, server stability woes, and a game-breaking exploit

Four adventurers journey into a dim dungeon

(Image credit: Ironmace)

Dark and Darker’s grand return has been met with myriad issues, leading developer Ironmace to apologize.

Following a lengthy absence from Steam over a legal dispute with Nexon, the dark dungeon crawler returned with a twist. The game is now available in Early Access if you’re willing to buy it through the developer’s website or an indie storefront called Chaf Games.

Less than 24 hours later, and it’s been rocky at best. Issues with the developer’s website, login, and payment threw up oodles of hurdles for those wanting to play. The payment function was briefly suspended so the team could fix it, server stability took a hit due to the flood of players trying to get in, and, naturally, the players who did get in discovered a lantern-related exploit that led to an emergency restart so a patch could be implemented.

"We apologize for any inconvenience," the developer said on Discord. "Ironmace and Chafgames will do our best to quickly solve the many problems that are currently occurring."

Chafgames adds: "We would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the recent challenges you may have faced while trying to access our game. Due to an unexpectedly high volume of traffic, our servers encountered database issues which may have disrupted your experience."

Laying out a plan for what's next, Chafgames says various payment issues have been resolved, so you can either now "play seamlessly" or request a refund if you so desire.

What this means for the future isn’t exactly crystal clear either. Nexon alleges that Ironmace – made up of former employees of the developer – stole assets to create what would come to be Dark and Darker. The legal rumblings have led to reports of police raids and the game being pulled from Steam. All that hasn’t quite halted the march to release, though the road remains rocky.

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I joined GamesRadar+ in May 2022 following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When I'm not running the news team on the games side, you'll find me putting News Editor duties to one side to play the hottest JRPG of 20 years ago or pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new cloak – the more colourful, the better.